A leopard which has been straying into human habitations near Karamadai and preying livestock, escaped from a trap placed by the Forest Department on Saturday night.
The leopard escaped from the trap after it managed to break a wooden panel at the bottom of the old cage.
Goat found dead
A goat, which was tied up as lure in the cage, was found dead when villagers checked the trap on Sunday morning. The cage was placed at Bommanaickar Thottam near Vellinakadu coming under Karamadai forest range after repeated attack by leopard on livestock. Five families are living in the area which is at the foothill of Thogaimalai. Forest Department personnel later placed camera traps in the area to monitor the movement of leopard.
According to officials, the cage was placed at Bommanaickar Thottam after camera traps captured image of leopard roaming in village.
T. Saravanan, forest range officer of Karamadai, said that old cage damaged by the leopard has been replaced with a new one and another cage has been set up around 500 metre away from it where leopard movement was identified. “We have given searchlights to all the five families residing at Bommanaickar Thottam to attend to emergencies at night and advised them to avoid movement outside houses after sunset,” he said.
Source : The Hindu